Adolescents’ Perspectives on the Drivers of Obesity Using a Group Model Building Approach: A South African Perspective
Open accessAbstract
Overweight and obesity increase the risk of a range of poor physiological and psychosocial health outcomes. Previous work with well-defined cohorts has explored the determinants of obesity and employed various methods and measures; however, less is known on the broader societal drivers, beyond individual-level influences, using a systems framework with adolescents. The aim of this study was to explore the drivers of obesity from adolescents’ perspectives using a systems approach through group model building in four South African schools. Group model building was used to generate 4 causal loop diagrams with 62 adolescents aged 16–18 years. These maps were merged into one final map, and the main themes were identified: (i) physical activity and social media use; (ii) physical activity, health-related morbidity, and socio-economic status; (iii) accessibility of unhealthy food and energy intake/body weight; (iv) psychological distress, body weight, and weight-related bullying; and (v) parental involvement and unhealthy food intake. Our study identified meaningful policy-relevant insights into the drivers of adolescent obesity, as described by the young people themselves in a South African context. This approach, both the process of construction and the final visualization, provides a basis for taking a novel approach to prevention and intervention recommendations for adolescent obesity.
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In CO-CREATE systems mapping workshops with 16-18-year-olds in six countries, social media, and in particular influencers and celebrities, was consistently reported as negatively impacting mental health, which in turn encouraged excessive and compulsive dietary intakes and reduced motivation to exercise and eat healthily.
“Social media, and in particular influencers and celebrities, was consistently reported as negatively impacting mental health -specifically body image, self-esteem, stress, personal relationships and loneliness, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, which in turn encouraged excessive and compulsive dietary intakes and reduced motivation to exercise and eat healthily.”
From Associations between social media, adolescent mental health, and diet: A systematic review (2023) · cites this paper as [21]
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Associations between social media, adolescent mental health, and diet: A systematic review
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Hendricks, G., Savona, N., Aguiar, A., Alaba, O., Booley, S., Malczyk, S., Nwosu, E., Knai, C., Rutter, H., Klepp, K.-I., & Harbron, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Cape Town (ZA)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- University of Bergen (NO)
- Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
- University of Bath (GB)
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NO)
- Corresponding author
- Hendricks, Gaironeesa
- ORCID
- Venue
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2022-02-14
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 2160
- ISSN
- 1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8871984
- OpenAlex
- W4213198303
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 4.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- LSHTM Research Online (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Open University of Cape Town (University of Cape Town) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- European Union’s Horizon 2020 (774210)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Obesity and Health Practices
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Keywords
- adolescent obesity, group model building, causal loop diagrams, systems approach, adolescents' perceptions, physical activity, social media use, socioeconomic status, energy intake, body weight, psychological distress, parental involvement, obesity prevention, South Africa
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Food, Humans, Schools, Exercise, Overweight, Pediatric Obesity
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